'Sexomnia' : sleeping man cleared of rape

A Canadian man was acquitted of sexual assault this week after a judge ruled he was asleep during the attack.

The acquitted 33-year-old landscaper had met a woman at a party in July, the Toronto Sun newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Both had been drinking and fell asleep on a couch.

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The woman woke up to find the landscaper having sex with her and pushed him off.

He immediately woke up, but told the court he only suspected they had had sex after going to the bathroom and finding he was still wearing a condom.

A sleep expert testified at his trial that the man suffered from sexomnia, a sort of sleep walking that includes sexual acts, likely brought on by alcohol, sleep deprivation and genetics.

The man had previously had "sleep sex" with four girlfriends, the court heard.

The judgement outraged women's groups, according to the report.

"This is infuriating. It's another case of the courts not taking a woman seriously, adding yet another item to the list of excuses which men use for sexual assault," Suzanne Jay of the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres told the newspaper.